Meditation: Vipassana – Opening Our Hearts to Life as It Is (20 min.)

As humans face the darkness of fear, violence, and division, something else is also stirring: an awakening field of courage, care, and connection.  This talk explores the primitive survival strategies that keep us in trance and the evolutionary currents of awakening that return us to belonging. Through reflection and practice, we are invited to nurture the river of love and justice moving through our world, and to step forward—together—into beloved community.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

This meditation awakens the senses with a mindful scanning of the body, establishes an anchor for presence, and invites us to arrive again and again, deepening the pathway home. When difficult or intense experience arises, the practice is to learn to open to what is here with a clear, allowing and kind attention (a favorite from the archives).   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

While it's natural to try to control our life experience, our chronic controlling cuts us off from presence and obscures the loving awareness that is our essence.  This series of talks explores how we can let go in four key domains of controlling: clinging to thoughts, resisting feelings, holding tight to beliefs and armoring our heart. We look at how egoic controlling manifests individually and as a society; the process of awakening from exclusive identification with a separate ego/self; what it means to die into a larger reality and the similarities of psychedelics and meditation in the process of letting go. The gift of releasing the grip of controlling is true freedom; inhabiting the intrinsic beauty of our beings, and having our lives be an expression of creativity, wisdom and love.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

In this guided meditation, we explore how true peace and happiness arise not from controlling life, but from gently opening to it. When we meet our moment-to-moment experience with tenderness and awareness, the heart naturally softens into ease. This practice begins by awakening presence in the body and senses—feeling the breath, sensations, and sounds as they are. From there, we widen into a spacious, kind awareness that includes the changing flow of thoughts, emotions, and experience. Rather than pushing away or judging what arises, we learn to rest in a welcoming heart. This meditation supports: ✨ Mindfulness and embodied presence  ✨ Emotional healing through non-judgment ✨ Self-compassion and inner peace ✨ Nervous system regulation ✨ Living with greater openness and love We close with a short verse from poet Dorothy Hunt, "Peace Is This Moment Without Judgment," reminding us that freedom is found right here—in allowing life to be just as it is. ________________ Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music Support Tara's Work: If you find value in these talks and wish to support their continuation, please consider making a donation. Your generosity helps us keep these teachings available to all. Visit: https://www.tarabrach.com/donation/ 

While it's natural to try to control our life experience, our chronic controlling cuts us off from presence and obscures the loving awareness that is our essence.  This series of talks explores how we can let go in four key domains of controlling: clinging to thoughts, resisting feelings, holding tight to beliefs and armoring our heart. We look at how egoic controlling manifests individually and as a society; the process of awakening from exclusive identification with a separate ego/self; what it means to die into a larger reality and the similarities of psychedelics and meditation in the process of letting go. The gift of releasing the grip of controlling is true freedom; inhabiting the intrinsic beauty of our beings, and having our lives be an expression of creativity, wisdom and love.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

This meditation begins with a period of relaxing and collecting our attention with intentional long, deep breathing. We then deepen embodied presence, and widen to the awareness that includes sounds, sensations, feelings, breath, and all experience. When the mind drifts from this open, awake awareness, we gently return, re-relaxing and resting in an easeful, alert presence. Recorded at Tara's Wednesday night class, the meditation ends with a sense of melting into community – relaxed and alert.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

What might change if you were three degrees friendlier than you are now? Not more accommodating or self-sacrificing, but authentically friendlier—to your inner life, with others, and in how you meet the world. In this talk, I explore what friendliness actually is, why it so often shuts down under stress, and how small, accessible practices can bring it back online—and, over time, uplevel your friendliness quotient.   As our hearts become more friendly, we become more inwardly free. Our everyday interactions grow more alive, engaging, and surprisingly heart-opening. And finally, friendliness can offer just the kind of global warming we most need in these times.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

This meditation establishes a gentle and caring presence through bringing the image and felt sense of a smile to various domains in the body. We then settle with the breath, and practice relaxing with whatever arises, letting life be just as it is. The underlying intention is to regard all experience with a clear, interested and friendly attention. The gift is a homecoming to our naturally loving presence.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

This meditation awakens a receptive attention to the senses, starting with physical sensations and opening to sound. Then we sense how open awake awareness is receiving the moment to moment arising and passing life. In the final part of the practice, we explore how awake awareness is receiving the experience of our heart and offer blessings to our inner life and all living beings.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music

What if hope is not something we cling to—but a capacity we can cultivate? In this talk, we'll explore how hope becomes a healing and liberating force when it is rooted in awareness, trust, and compassionate action. The mature expression of hope includes three interwoven elements: the aspiration to awaken our full potential, a trust in the possibility of that unfolding, and the energy to engage in service to life. We'll also look at why hope matters so deeply on the spiritual path, how it can support emotional healing and resilience, and how to recognize its shadow forms—when hope turns into striving or denial. Through mindful reflection, we discover how to nourish a hope that is spacious, embodied, and aligned with love. This teaching is offered for anyone seeking guidance in staying open-hearted and engaged during uncertain and painful times.   Our introduction music is from "Opening" by Adrienne Torf, © 2025 ABT Music